MerLenCan

Recipes which we tried and recommend (warning! We use chili & garlic!)

Fish

pasta with spicy swordfish

2-4 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 clove garlic, chopped

1 lb. swordfish fillet, sliced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup tomato purée

2
new mexican or jalapeno chili pepper, seeds and inner white ribbing
removed (if you like it milder), minced, plus extra for garnish

½ teaspoon sugar

¼ cup fish stock

1 teaspoon finely chopped oregano, plus extra

1 pound pasta

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic
and swordfish, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 4
minutes. Remove from the skillet, and keep warm.

Add the tomato purée and the chili pepper to the same
skillet. Season with salt and pepper, add the sugar, and cook for 6
minutes. Return the swordfish to the skillet, add the fish stock, and
sprinkle with the marjoram. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt and pasta,
and cook until al dente. Drain well, and add add to the skillet. Toss
and transfer to a platter. To serve, sprinkle with marjoram, and
garnish with whole chili peppers.

Salsa

Bhut Jolokia Fire Salsa

Yield 2½ cups

Ingredients

½ oz. (15 gr.) stemmed, dried bhut jolokia chilies

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 cans diced tomatoes with juice

salt to taste

Directions

In a bowl, add dried chilies and cover with hot water. Rehydrate for 15 minutes.

In a blender, combine chilies and 1/3 cup of soaking water, and then add garlic and vinegar and purée.

In a bowl, add chili purée to tomatoes and combine.

Spicy Apple-Green Chile Salsa

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoons olive oil

4 medium unpeeled tart apples, diced

1 large red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 chopped green serrano chilies

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 diced red pepper

Directions

In a skillet, over medium heat, add olive oil. Add
the apples, red onion, garlic, and vinegar and cook 5 to 8 minutes or
until the apples and onion are translucent. Add the broth, chilies,
jalapeño, black pepper, cilantro, and salt. Stir and cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the
apples are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the red pepper during the last
5 minutes of cooking; set aside.

Salsa Verde (1)

Yield 3 cups

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb tomatillos

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon sugar

2
Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped (adjust number and type of chilies to your taste)

Salt to taste

Directions

1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.

2a Roasting method Cut in half and place cut side down on a
foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to
lightly blacken the skin. This method gives a richer flavor.

2b Boiling method Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with
water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tomatillos with
a slotted spoon. This method is maybe easier and quicker.

2 Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, chili
peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all
ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt.
Cool in refrigerator.

Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican or any other dishes.

Makes 3 cups.

Salsa

Spiced Ginger Cranberry Sauce

I
usually make a cranberry relish to Thanksgiving - but I was looking for
something I could use to a roast duck
using cranberries and ginger and was NOT a relish, but a warm
sauce to be served over the poultry and I found something I could
use/adapt on "MIKE's TABLE".This sauce was
simply amazing it was incredibly rich and the sauce was had a
deceptively simple appearance while packing a very, full, well-rounded
flavor-fruity, spicy (the cloves and anise give a great finish), and
acidic- the perfect compliment to cut through the duck. The tartness of
the cranberries was balanced by the sweetness of the wine caramel
(yeah, you read it right) beaten into the sauce. If you're looking for
a sexy sauce to make any meal special, this is definitely
it because this is really tasty.

If you are using poultry see it you can get one with gizzards
and all that good stuff. - if using game or other meat - try
cooking up the bones & other usables when making the stock.

Stock

vegetable oil

salt

pepper

1 medium onion

1 celery stalk

1 carrot

4-5 cups chicken stock

big handful of thyme sprigs

handful of parsely sprigs

1/2 Bay leaf

oranges zest - if you are not allergic to citrus

1 shallot

big handful of herbs (I used thyme sprigs, rosemary, and sage)

Sauce

3 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp balsamic

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1-1.25 cup cranberries

~1 inch knob ginger

2 cups stock (which you'll be making as a part of this recipe - see above)

2 Tbsp arrowroot (or 3 Tbsp cornstarch) - I didn't use this!! It was the right consistency

1/2 cup red wine

2 Tbsp butter

3 cardamom pods

5 cloves

1 star anise

fennel seeds

salt

pepper

The first step to this dish is to make a rich, brown stock
(unless you happen to keep that handy in your freezer/pantry). So chop
up the onion, celery, carrot, and gizzards (which should be
roughly 1/2-1 inch sized chunks - include the wing tips, neck - it all adds
flavor!), bones or other good things.

Then, in a pan, warm up some oil and brown the chopped goodies
along with the diced onion, celery, and carrot. Toss this around
periodically, browning everything for about 10 minutes or so. Then, add
in the chicken stock (from a can is ok!) and herbs (thyme, parsely, Bay
leaf), ensuring everything is submerged in liquid (top it off with more
stock - or even water if you need to). Season with salt and pepper a bit.

Cover the pot loosely and gently simmer this for about 1.5-2 hours,
skimming off the fat/scum periodically. Once time is up, pour the
mixture through a strainer and squeeze every last bit of juice out of
the zombie vegetables. The stock should have a rich, brown color and a
great flavor. If you have more than you need for this recipe, save the
extra for another day - you'll use it!

Grate
the ginger and gather the orange zest.
In a saucepan, mix the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and sugar
and warm this up. After a few minutes, the mixture should thicken and
begin to caramelize while the harshness of the vinegar dissipates. Once
its thick and syrupy, dissolve the mixture in a small bit of the stock
you prepared earlier, beating it into the liquid until well mixed.With
the wine caramel thinned out, add the rest of the stock and get
the mixture boiling. Once it is, add in the cranberries, ginger, orange
peel, and whole spices. After about 10 minutes, the cranberries should
have burst and softened up to be more saucy. Let this continue to
simmer on low/medium heat.

If you are preparing the sauce for a
roast (duck, chicken, pheasant, elk) - and there are crispy bits and
fat in the pan - geglaze with the red wine, boiling rapidly and
scraping
up all of the bits in the pan as best you can. Reduce it down to about
2-3 tablespoons and strain it into the cranberry sauce that you
prepared earlier - it adds a great deal of extra punchy flavor.

With the sauce still simmering, fish out the whole spices. If the sauce doen't have the thickness you like, scoop out
about 1/4-1/2 cup of the sauce into a bowl and beat in the cornstarch
with a whisk until totally integrated. Mix this back into the saucepan
with the rest of the sauce and simmer over medium heat for 3-5 minutes
so the cornstarch can do its thing and thicken your sauce up a bit.